Marc-André ter Stegen is being sidelined at FC Barcelona. The manner raises questions. A commentary.
Barcelona’s announcement of the deal with Joan García on Wednesday likely didn’t please Marc-André ter Stegen in many ways.
Because on the one hand, García is, as is an open secret, planned as the number 1 – as soon as the Barca hurdle, now common due to the financial situation, to register him as eligible to play is overcome.
Robin Wigger, Head of Newsroom at SPORT1, considers the treatment of Marc-André ter Stegen undignified
Treatment of ter Stegen undignified
That a new signing is (effusively) praised is not unusual, and the Catalans substantiated this designation with data.
Nevertheless, this process is symbolic of the current situation. Because at the same time, Germany’s number 1 (still) stands in the Barca squad and has recently shown in the DFB jersey, after a serious injury, at what level he can still hold up.
Worse than the pure fact that ter Stegen is being sidelined are the accompanying circumstances.
“Absolutely reprehensible,” Barca’s ex-presidential candidate Victor Font said on Catalunya Radio, is it, “that no one in the club has spoken to ter Stegen.” Font called it “bullying” – undignified and disrespectful it is in any case.
Nagelsmann also warned
Coach Hansi Flick also doesn’t cover himself in glory in this regard, should the reports of the Barcelona-based newspaper Mundo Deportivo be true, that Flick still hasn’t talked to ter Stegen about the current situation.
What kind of treatment is that with a player who has been a first-class mainstay of the club for years and is still planned by national coach Julian Nagelsmann as number 1 for the 2026 World Cup, so apparently still possesses world-class skills?
Ter-Stegen future in Barcelona questionable
It is the good right of those responsible in Barcelona to opt for a new goalkeeper and against ter Stegen. The fact that the DFB keeper felt “deceived, attacked, betrayed” and “let down” according to the Spanish newspaper Sport is nevertheless understandable.
Especially since the 33-year-old behind the new man, Wojciech Szczesny and two talents should be only number 5 and not play a single minute in the preparation.
It is hardly conceivable that the cooperation between Barcelona and ter Stegen will find a dignified end or even a successful continuation, although ter Stegen (contract until 2028) according to Sport Bild wants to face the internal competition and recently publicly confessed to staying (“I know that I’m in Barcelona next year”).
Three losers are threatened
From a German point of view, it remains to be hoped that ter Stegen will find a way out of the situation – whether in Barcelona or at another top club like Galatasaray, which is said to be very interested.
Because the DFB needs a strong number 1 if the World Cup dream is to be fulfilled in 2026. And if ter Stegen wants to be that, he needs match practice, confidence – and a coach who relies on him.
Otherwise, the undignified spectacle could end up with three losers: Flick, ter Stegen and the German national team.